# Could there be star systems where not all planets orbit in the same ecliptic plane? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 14, 2006, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-star-systems-where-not-all-planets-orbit-in-the-same-ecliptic-plane/348327 "2006-03-14T16:24:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-star-systems-where-not-all-planets-orbit-in-the-same-ecliptic-plane/348327/21 "2006-03-14T21:40:13Z")
> [@](#): > > A gravity “slingshot” from Neptune probably explains Pluto getting kicked out of the ecliptic into its angled orbit. Back when the satellites of the outer planets were the only other Pluto-like objects known, this was a likely hypothesis. Now, however, a great many other Kuiper belt objects have been found, such as Quaoar and “Xena”, and some of those have even crazier orbits than Pluto. Unless Neptune kicked them all out of the ecliptic, it’s more reasonable to assume that the Kuiper belt objects were just less tightly constrained in the first place. And there were observed discrepencies in Neptune’s orbit, and calculations resulting from those discrepancies did, in fact, lead to the discovery of Pluto. It turns out, though, that that discovery was purely fortuitous, and the discrepancies observed in the first place were just experimental error. While the planets do in general have measurable gravitational effects on each other, and Neptune certainly has significant effects on Pluto, I would very highly doubt that Pluto’s effects on Neptune are at all significant (as in, we probably couldn’t even detect it with specially-designed probes in orbit around Neptune and Pluto, using the most advanced cutting-edge technology even currently on the drawing board). Oh, and **Quartz** , I won’t say that the ApJ is above playing an April Fool’s joke, but if they did, it’d probably be a lot less subtle than that. And the scientists who write a scientific paper have very little control over when exactly that paper will be published. So until and unless we see a retraction, I’m inclined to trust that cite. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-star-systems-where-not-all-planets-orbit-in-the-same-ecliptic-plane/348327/22 "2006-03-14T22:13:23Z")
Is there any definite relationship between the ecliptic planes of two neighboring star systems? Or could they have any old orientation WRT each other? Is there any relationship between the ecliptic plane of a star system and the – I guess we could call it “plane” – of the Milky Way Galaxy? ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-star-systems-where-not-all-planets-orbit-in-the-same-ecliptic-plane/348327/23 "2006-03-14T22:16:31Z")
Let’s not forget the Oort Cloud or spiral galaxies’ halo objects (stars and star clusters). These are objects that are spread more or less into a sphere around the disc of the other objects. Oort Cloud objects around a planetary system, and halo objects around a galaxy. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-star-systems-where-not-all-planets-orbit-in-the-same-ecliptic-plane/348327/24 "2006-03-14T22:22:47Z")
Oort Cloud is not to be confused with Kuiper Belt, btw. [Here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Kuiper_oort.jpg) is a great illustration of our Oort Cloud. [Info on galaxy halo objects](http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/milkyway/components.html), which also seems to full of MACHOs and WIMPs in addition to ancient star clusters. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-star-systems-where-not-all-planets-orbit-in-the-same-ecliptic-plane/348327/25 "2006-03-14T22:34:27Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Now, however, a great many other Kuiper belt objects have been found, such as Quaoar and “Xena”, and some of those have even crazier orbits than Pluto. Unless Neptune kicked them all out of the ecliptic, it’s more reasonable to assume that the Kuiper belt objects were just less tightly constrained in the first place. With such long orbital periods, objects at the outer edges of the solar system will have had fewer chances to interact with their neighbors since the formation of the solar system. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-star-systems-where-not-all-planets-orbit-in-the-same-ecliptic-plane/348327/26 "2006-03-14T22:44:10Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Back when the satellites of the outer planets were the only other Pluto-like objects known, this was a likely hypothesis. Now, however, a great many other Kuiper belt objects have been found, such as Quaoar and “Xena”, and some of those have even crazier orbits than Pluto. Unless Neptune kicked them all out of the ecliptic, it’s more reasonable to assume that the Kuiper belt objects were just less tightly constrained in the first place. [Neptune and Pluto are in an orbital resonance, though.](http://www.nineplanets.org/plutodyn.html) Some Kuiper Belt objects (the plutinos) are also in a resonance with Neptune, others (the cubewanos) aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-star-systems-where-not-all-planets-orbit-in-the-same-ecliptic-plane/348327/27 "2006-03-15T01:08:26Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > I think you’re confusing orbital direction with rotational direction. You might also be conflating this with the fact that all the gas giants have _satellites_ in both prograde and retrograde orbits. > > That, or I’m being whooshed. Agreed. Personally I think he is confused, but we could both suffer a whoosh 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/could-there-be-star-systems-where-not-all-planets-orbit-in-the-same-ecliptic-plane/348327.md?page=1)